The path to the top becomes zigzagging and the highlight of the castle, the great Ano-zumi high stone walls appear soon.
Features
Third Enclosure as Parking lot
Today, the ruins of Tsunomure Castle have been developed by Kusu Town since they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2005. If you drive to the ruins, you can go from the foot of the mountain to the Third Enclosure at the middle of the slope through the paved forest road. However, please be careful when passing each other as the road is narrow. The Third Enclosure has become a parking lot which is still surrounded by stone walls. You can also see some collapsed stones lying around the enclosure. Some historians speculate that they came from the Climbing Stone Walls which the builder, Takamasa Mori might have brought and built from his experience of the invasion of Korea.
The map around the castle
The entrance of the forest roadThe Third Enclosure became a parking lotSome of the lying stones around the enclosure
Great Ano-zumi High Stone Walls
You will walk from the Third Enclosure to the center of the ruins above. You will also see some Vertical Moats made of soil on the slopes to prevent enemies from moving freely, which had been built before Takamasa came. That’s why the final version of the castle was mixed with the older and newer items. The path to the top becomes zigzagging and the highlight of the castle, the great Ano-zumi high stone walls appear soon. These stone walls made of natural stones and rubble, which remain for about 100m long by over 7m high, may look rough but were actually piled elaborately. You can feel the unique techniques of the past stone guild.
The vertical dry moatsClimbing the zigzagging pathThe high stone wallsThe stone walls, built in the Ano-zumi way, look so great
Going to Second Enclosure after passing Main Gate Ruins
You will next pass the Main Gate Ruins beside the current path, which had the defensive Koguchi entrance and its turret gate. The gate was also the entrance of the Well Enclosure, a lifeline of the castle. In fact, the gate was once called “the Back Gate” by local people and historians according to traditions, however, it is now considered “the Main Gate” as the studies about the castle improve. Please make sure that some of the official pamphlets and signboards still say it is the Back Gate. In that case, you need to understand it is actually the Main Gate.
The ruins of the Main GateA signboard still says it is the Back Gate Ruins, inside the red circle in Japanese
You will eventually walk up to the Second Enclosure, which is also surrounded by stone walls. The excavation team found stone foundations for some buildings in the enclosure. The enclosure also had the Western Gate Ruins, which had a gate with roof tiles and entrance, similar to the Main Gate. In addition, the gate was once called “the Main Gate”. Overall, the area above the Ano-zumi stone walls below the second enclosure was certainly modernized by Takamasa Mori.
Going to the Second EnclosureThe stone walls of the Second EnclosureThe inside of the Second EnclosureThe ruins of the Western Gate
Nakatsu City planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting.
Features
Many Shrines in Main Enclosure
There are now many shrines in the Main Enclosure such as Nakatsu Shrine, Nakatsu Grand Shrine, and Okudaira Shrine. An interesting one among them is Kii Shrine, which worships a local warlord, Shigefusa Kii who was invited but murdered in the castle by Nagamasa Kuroda, Yoshitaka’s son. A tradition says Nagamasa established the shrine because he was feared by a ghost of Shigefusa’s revenge and regretted his action.
The map around the Main Enclosure
Nakatsu ShrineNakatsu Grand ShrineOkudaira Shrine on the leftKii Shrine, quoted from the Tourism Nakatsu Yabakei websiteThe portrait of Shigefusa Kii, owned by Tentokuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Third and Second Enclosures
The Third Enclosure is next to the Main Enclosure, but has become the city area. It has the Main Gate Ruins to the center of the castle, where the past visitors had to pass one more gate, Kuro-mon to reach the Shiki-mon Gate of the Main Enclosure. You can still see part of the great stone walls of the Main Gate among the modern residences.
The map around the castle
The current THird EnclosureThe remaining stone walls of the Main Gate, the front part was first built by the Kuroda Clan and the back part was added by the Hosokawa Clan to make a defensive square space called MasugataThe inside of the gate was like this illustration, the remaining part is marked white, the Kuro-mon Gate and the Shiiki-mon Gate are below it, from the signboard at the site
The other neighboring Second Enclosure has become a park where you can see some remaining stone foundations of Samurai residences.
The Second Enclosure ParkThe ruins of the Samurai residences
Fukuzawa’s Old House
Another recommendation you can visit is the old house of Yukichi Fukuzawa, about 1km away from the enclosure in the east. He bought this house when he was 16 years old and lived in it until 19. He came from a lower warrior class in the Nakatsu Domain, so the house can be seen as an example of those which lower class warriors lived in. The house is well maintained, for instance, the thatched roof of it is supported by wooden bars. A storehouse made with thick earthen walls also remains beside the house, where Yukichi studied on its second floor.
Fukuzawa’s Old HouseThe interior of the houseThe supported thatched roofThe storehouse where Fukuzawa studied
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Nakatsu Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings, except for the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure, were demolished. The hall was used as a government office for a while, but was burned down in 1877 by a disturbance during the Seinan War. After that, the castle ruins were used for the several shrines and the Imitation Main Tower was built in 1964. A recent topic about the castle ruins was that there was an internal controversy among the officials of Nakatsu City when it was planning to repair the stone walls opposite the riverside in the Main Enclosure in 2002. The department in charge planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting. However, the Cultural Heritage Division argued that the wall might be original and should be preserved. As a result, the stone walls were repaired using the old stones, as it had been discovered that they were the original ones used when Yoshitaka Kuroda first built the castle. The city announced that they are the oldest remaining stone walls in the Kyushu Region.
The repaired stone walls which use the original stones
My Impression
When I visited the current Nakatsu Castle, I was little confused that the site was mixed with the original items and many ones added later such as the Imitation Tower and the shrines. However, as I learned about history of the castle and people in Nakatsu, I understood that these items came from how they made great efforts on maintaining the castle and ruins. I also understood that running castle buildings can be difficult for private sectors which need profit to continue operating. Please give it your consideration to visit Nakatsu Castle when you travel around Nakatsu City.
The Imitation Main Tower seen from the riverside
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 15 minutes drive away from Sadanomi IC on the Nakatsu-Hita Road. There are several parking lots around the park. By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot to get there from JR Nakatsu Station. From Tokyo or Osaka to Nakatsu Station: Take the express bus to Oita Station from Oita Airport after using a plane, and get the train on the Nippo Line from the station.
